TAVISTOCK Athletic Club once again demonstrated to the rest of the county that they are a major force to be reckoned with when it comes to competitive running at any age level. At the Devon County Cross Country Championships held last week at Exeter Arena, Tavistock AC came away with a massive haul of 11 individual and 18 team medals ? outscoring their rivals from Bideford, Exeter, Torbay and Plymouth. In addition, many athletes booked their places in the Devon squad for the National Championships at Alton Towers in Staffordshire next year. The real stars of the day were the junior runners, who are in the middle of a purple patch of form under the expert coaching of Robin Musgrave and Carrie Lawson. The tone of the day was set from the first race when Claire Fraser was narrowly beaten for gold after leading the U13 girls? race for three quarters of the race. With remaining team members Sarah Hornby and Annabel Longden both taking top ten finishes, there was only ever one team likely to take top spot. In the U13 boys the club?s Dan Quick and Tom Green rose to the challenge to take seventh and 14th places respectively. The next race was to prove the highlight of the day. In a large field of U15 boys and girls the front of the race proved an enthralling affair with the lead changing constantly between Tavistock?s Nick Champion, South Devon?s Oliver Syrett and Thomas Stockley and TAC?s new boy, Matt Harding. On the hilly, muddy and energy sapping three lap course, the strong wind was to prove a decisive factor. Despite falling twice, Champion never allowed the trio to escape and colleague Harding generously shielded him from the gale as he showed his strength on the uphill sections. Champion pulled a gap on the long downhill section towards the end of the second lap only to be pegged back by the others on the final lap. It was, however, a sign of things to came as Champion pulled clear in the same place on the final lap and had the pace to hold off the fast finishing South Devon pair. The exertions of the hills proved too much for the brave Harding as he was unable to match the medallists, finishing an outstanding fourth. His consolation came in the form of another team gold along with 10th finisher George Speak. With Sam Straughan in 15th, Sam Eaton in 17th and Ben Brown in 18th, Tavistock would also have been able to take third team! At the front of the girls? race there was yet another strong performance from Tavistock?s only entrant, Rebecca Windemer. Despite pushing eventual Erme Valley winner Jess Harvey all the way, Rebecca had to settle for silver by a just seven seconds. A complicated third race saw U17, U20, senior and veteran ladies all start at the same time. The two younger age groups were to run 400 metres fewer than their older rivals. U17s Sam Fraser and Laura Aspen worked tirelessly to finish fourth and fifth respectively and book an almost certain invitation to the National Inter-County Championships in the spring. The senior ladies? race produced more medals, with a fast finishing Heather Fell leaving her final push for second too late by only three seconds, taking a well earned bronze. With the help of Sue Bratchley in 15th and Rebecca Deane in 20th, who narrowly pipped colleague Sam Eggins, Tavistock saw silver position for their team. Bratchley and Deane were further rewarded with individual bronzes in the 40-44 and 35-39 age group categories. In a similarly organised men?s race, a bronze was the reward for U17 Tom Gill, with Matt McNamara-Waddington taking 11th against a field of mainly older boys. The men?s race was to be the source of another medal haul, led by the super-fast Peter Freedman. Never really losing touch with reigning champion Kevin Heywood and hot favourite Kairn Stone, fresh air never really appeared between all three until a blistering final lap saw Freedman having to be content with bronze. With further strong finishes from Harry Wiltshire (sixth), Richard Drage (11th), Jim Cole (12th), Tony Symons (23rd) and Chris Champion (24th) the six counting Tavistock runners put in a strong challenge to regain the team trophy which they held in 2004 and 2005. It was not to be, however as higher finishes by Bideford athletes meant they retain the team championship by a handful of points. In the veteran team category, Drage, Symons and Champion were to go one better, taking gold by a considerable distance from their nearest rivals. Drage and Symons were further rewarded with respective gold and bronze medals in the 45-49 age group. Not to be outdone, coach Musgrave saw an individual silver in the 55-59 category. The final Tavistock finish of the day went to Tom O?Callaghan with an U20 seventh place in his first major championship. l Pictured above are the Tavistock Athletic Club junior athletes who competed in the county championships.